Dajana: New year, new challenge. You just released Evilution. After I was sort of disappointed by the predecessor Speye I have to say: Evilution just blew me away. It seems you heard my prayers… erm… reviewing words *laughs*.
El From Hell: Speye became an experimental album with a more dominant alternative touch, a lot of soundscapes and details. This separates the album more from our other albums with a more basic production. Maybe it sounded too much polished; I think this was what you were missing: the dirt under the fingernails. But a lot of these songs got their safe place in our set like In The Shadows, The Man With The Black Cat or She's Hellfire. On stage they are true neckbreakers from hell ;) You have to give this record some time to grow but then you have a lot to discover.
Drumgod: A fan of us described Speye as progressive-stoner. For sure it's the most experimental album of us. The reason Evilution cleans your clock is the compact writing-process and our amazing Kim ;)
Olli: We always let the songs flow and look where it goes. We wanted to work without any pressure on Speye. We could give everything a lot of more time in the studio because our former guitar player The Neighbour was doing the whole recordings. I think that this is the reason everything is sounding so polished. I by myself always admired the work of Rick Rubin with Danzig, The Cult, Trouble or Slayer. These are timeless productions, rough and honest. This time we really were able to capture our live sound because you only hear us as a band: vocals, 2 guitars, one bass and drums.

Dajana: How’s the response so far?
El From Hell: So far only positive. You can check the reviews on our website. The most I liked what Andreas Himmelstein of Rock Hard wrote about my vocal-performance. But: „He that praises himself spatters himself“, so you have to read it by your own :DDD
Drumgod: Like El mentioned: the reviews so far are just positive. It's only tragic that the most of the editors didn't get the joke about 666... and this in the metal-scene?
Olli: During the recording session we received the first positive feedback from our engineer „Frickes“ who knows us from the very first days. Also Big Pete from braingell radio (who made a pre-listening of our album in his show) was pretty amazed.
Kim Page: The feedback of the audience at our release show really blew me away. Even die-hard-fans from the very beginning have been completely amazed after we played the record in one turn. I want to mention here how much I appreciate the great welcoming from the guys and especially the fans!

Dajana: Beside, you’ve been extremely fast this time. Only one and a half year. Between Electro Baby and Speye it took 3. So you cut in half. What fired and quickened you?
El From Hell: Our 10-year-anniversary in 2011! In the beginning of the year we have been without a 2nd guitar rplayer and because of that not fully functional. But we wanted a new release for sure. In February we booked a location for our anniversary in October, convinced our preferred candidate to join Electro Baby, the hottest band in hell, wrote new songs, recorded the album, rocked the stage at the anniversary-show... the time-frame was very rough, this is the reason for only 6 songs... but extended ones;)
Drumgod: Yeah, this time we had a fixed release date without nearly any songs written. We wanted to present a new album to our anniversary for sure. The whole album (from the very beginning writing songs till the final CD) happened between February and October 2011. We entered the studio in July, so around 4 month for the writing process was all which was left.
Olli: Just after the release of Speye El came and said: hey we have to make a new album to celebrate our anniversary with style. Like he said, suddenly we were only a 4-piece. We wrote songs in this period of time but when Kim Page joined the band we started with a blank page again and wrote the album in 4 month.
Drumgod: But the recordings have always been a process where still a lot can happen, where the songs get their final expression. This also happened during the recording of Speye.
Olli: It also was the first album we planed reverse from the end to the beginning. Here we have the release, so here it has to go to the manufacturing, here the final mix, and there we have to enter the studio. Everybody worked really focused on the album because of this pressure.
Kim Page: The songs just flew out of us ;) We pushed it every rehearsal to a higher level and had a whole lotta fun. At one moment we just made it hardly (thank you Olli) from one deadline to another. But at the end of the day it really pushed the songs on a much higher level!

Dajana: As you added a new guitarist to the group’s ranks. How much of a creative input Kim Page had on Evilution?
El From Hell: Kim just bubbles over with ideas. He never sleeps and prefers to play guitar at night. We kicked existing ideas and started with him at point zero. Otherwise we couldn't comprehend his whole input;) Now everything just sounds flawless. Kim Page rocks massive!
Olli: We knew him already a long time before; he was our preferred candidate from the very beginning! We had some sessions together in 2005 when we thought the first time about a 2nd guitar player. But sadly the time schedules didn't let it happen. Now it feels like there was never a time without him. So it's only natural that we wrote the album altogether with him.
Drumgod: Kim really gave us wings. Especially that he comes with a very positive and strong vibe to every rehearsal. For sure he brings a lot of retro-influences to the band – what makes especially me very happy. But still we write all the songs as a 5-piece in the rehearsal room. We are a democratic band ;) [...we vote as long till everybody agrees with me ;)]
Kim Page: I am... speechless :)

Dajana: I actually love the conceptual vinyl thing, the cozy crackling and the jumping tone arm at the end that pumps up the album to 66 tracks with 66:66 minutes of running time. Cool idea. How got it?
I could now cheekily allege that you wanted to make an album out of an EP with a cheap trick. But it’s at least innovative ;)
El From Hell: Why do say EP?! Hey, I mean Reign In Blood has a running time just about 29 min. We put 10 more, so just around 40 min. We really wanted to run along with the Evilution-joke. That's the reason for 6 songs, 66:06 running time, 66 tracks, 666 in the barcode, official release on a Friday 13th...
Olli: ...and 666 in the article number ;)
Drumgod: The joke with the number of the beast got our bass player Olli regarding Evilution. So we needed a black disc. We burned our first EP Grrr...! also on a black CD-R. So there wasn't such a big step from a black disc to a vinyl look-alike. And this inspired us to the cozy crackling and the jumping tone arm at the end.
Olli: ...if the CD looks like a record we can also add the cozy crackling of a real record ;)
Drumgod: Like El mentioned before we don't see Evilution less than an EP than a regular long-player. Truly there aren't so many songs on it but they have an extended length. Evilution got a running time of nearly 40 min. If you compare it to Limbo Messiah of the Beatstakes (with 11 Songs and a running time of only 31 min) nobody talks about an EP
Olli: Or for example Close To The Edge by Yes with only 3 songs is not called a maxi single ;)

Dajana: I always like your CD packages. How important is the design of the package to you and the label? How much influence you have on the manufacturing and artistic process?
Drumgod: Regarding content, manufacturing and artwork we have the last word. Of course Eucalypdisc has high standards, especially regarding the design.
El From Hell: We can call ourselves lucky to have design-god Mr. Buster in our band. We do everything by our own and can realize every idea and nonsense crossing our mind.
Kim Page: I completely agree with El on this one. Olli did just an amazing job. Except of this we got very lucky to work with the naturally gifted photographer Ann Buster!
Olli: Oh..Thank you ;) It always had priority to have an influence on everything or better: immediately make it by our own.

Dajana: Will there be a vinyl edition for Evilution? Would perfectly suit the album I think…
El From Hell: This would be really stunning! We considered it a lot in the past. But our budget never allowed it.
Drumgod: Yeah, at the moment we still don't have any vinyls. But if Evilution hits the market we would love to release vinyls. But the 666-joke would not work out very well ;)
Olli: If you play our actual CD on a record player you have at least some crackling :D

Dajana: As I said in my review Evilution sounds much like Suicidal Tendencies (The Art Of Rebellion). You agree? If so, who’s the one listening?
Olli: I don't have it ;)
Kim Page: Me neither... Olli, now I start to be concerned...
Robmaster: I also didn't get this one. I mean, I know a couple of songs of Suicidal Tendencies... but no ;)
El From Hell: I have the album but it wasn't any influence on me for sure. I don't get the comparison, haha. But I will put it in my player tomorrow together with a couple of beers. We will see when i can compare the same, haha. Once we got compared with Mike Patton's Fantomas. It's always interesting what parallels people hear.
Drumgod: I own this album in my collection. Maybe I was the influence in this one... but I didn't listen to it for at least 2 years. From my perspective Evilution is much more heavy and dramatic than the gang of Mike Muir. But for sure we can reach some ST-followers.

Dajana: Where do you generally draw all kind of inspiration from?
El From Hell: Lately I listened a lot Zakk Wylde and Black Label. I think you can recognize it in my style of singing. Zakk Wylde rules!
Robmaster: Books, Movies, Music and TV in general.
Drumgod: We are all from different genres, none of us is the „pure“ metal head.
Olli: I think nobody of us can deny Black Sabbath as an influence;)
Drumgod: I am more of a hippie rocker; love Motorpsyho and Graveyard, 70ies Hard Rock and 60ies Garage. But for breakfast I also prefer Miles Davies or Tom Waits.
Kim Page: I always enter the rehearsals with a free mind and an opened heart. Every song of Evilution is based on jams. Because of this reason I say: my biggest inspiration is the brute force magic which appears when I join the guys in the rehearsal room and our rays are crossing each other (ha, which movie?)

Dajana: How often you got asked what Speye means? I mean… you know, adds another dimension to the cover artwork too, without getting indexed ;)
Drumgod: Speye is a playing with the words „Spy“ and „Eye“, the eye of the spy. But you have to free your mind and think outside of the box to see what's on the artwork. But most of the people didn't see it ;)
El From Hell: Yeah, that's true. Even with a detailed description the people couldn't get the artwork, haha. But there is also color-blindness ;)
Olli: Since the very beginning we are in contact with b-movie-queen Julie Strain. She is the nicest person and you can call her our muse. She approved that we can use her for every artwork. This is the reason you find her on every album cover. The artwork of Speye is a part of her face where you can only see one eye of her.
Dajana: Ooops, seems I am the one who went astray, the dirtier and filthier way… ;)

Dajana: 2011 and gone. Do you still have in mind what happened during the last 12 months? Please look back and reflect the highlights of and with ELECTRO BABY, and common stuff such as music, films, concerts, books…etc.
El From Hell: Our first concert with Kim at RoFa in February. Afterwards he told us that he would join the band as permanent member and was smiling more than usual. Afterwards we were all smiling more than usual ;) KIM PAGE joined our hellride! Best record was Rival Sons Pressure And Time. Hell of an album!!!
Kim Page: My highlight in 2011 started in February when I joined the band and lasted till December 31 2011!
Drumgod: The highlight which still makes us all shiver is for sure Kim Page joining the band. Definitely the best what could happen to us! Our 10-year-anniversary show at Substage/Karlsruhe was without any doubt the most remarkable event on stage.
Olli: The whole year 2011 was one highlight for the band. First Kim joined the band, the whole writing-process of the album; the recordings and our 10-year-anniversary show introducing Evilution live on stage. Shrinebuilder impressed me a lot, the record got released in 2010 but I discovered it in 2011. And Ghost are really amazing!
Robmaster: Definitely Kim Page joining the band. Just stunning, I am looking forward!

Dajana: And now: eyes front! What’s coming up in 2012? Any plans and confirmations?
Robmaster: To rock, to play live, to pulverize.
El From Hell: The songwriting already started. But we also want to leave burning locations when we play live. We will see which paths will appear because of Evilution.
Olli: If it keeps going on like this we have to enter the studio really soon ;) I can assure that we are working with full force on getting new gigs.
Drumgod: A bigger promotion is planned to finally get a booking agency and therefore getting more and better gigs. Maybe we will make it this time to Poland...

Dajana: Listening to ELECTRO BABY a couple of bands pop up in mind with them you would perfectly harmonize live on tour and leave nothing than scorched earth ;) You have a tour-dream-package too? Which one?
El From Hell: More than a „so-called“ dream-package we are interested in contacts to bands which push us more forward playing more and better gigs. It is really difficult to get good ones.
Olli: If you get booked you have in most of the cases no influence that is also on the billing. Tony Portaro of Whiplash is a big supporter and fan of us. Two times he wanted us on tour with them but every time the booker/promoter didn't let it happen. We also want to do some shows with Motorjesus (which never worked out by now) but this year we gonna make it happen ;)
Drumgod: I would love to share the stage with Mustasch and The Cult.
Olli: Yeah, this would be awesome!
Dajana: Motorjesus was one of the bands I had in mind too…

Dajana: Also a special place you would like to play live one day?
El From Hell: How long does it take that the Stoned From The Underground recognizes us? Hello...anybody out there?
Olli: Yeah, or Doom Shall Rise... or Wacken ;)
Kim Page: Hammersmith Odeon would be awesome :)
Drumgod: As a fan of Spain i would love to play the Semana-Grande at Bilbao. Better a whole Spain-tour!
Robmaster: I would love to play alone and very long in sold-out venues.

Dajana: Coming to an end I’d like to say thank you for time and effort answering all these questions. Have a great time and I hopefully see you playing live anytime soon.
Robmaster: Thank you Dajana!!! We invite you to our next show from the bottom of our heart.
Drumgod: Yeah, exactly. Join us at 10th of March at Karlsruhe. We take care about bed & breakfast!
Olli: And to all the night owls out there. Listen to the Big-Pete-Show on Brain Gell Radio (braingell.com) on Monday night. Big Pete has a good taste in music ;) And you can listen to all the old shows as a podcast.